Instacart shoppers in Philly can now apply to become part-time employees

Is this the maturation of the instant gratification economy?
Instacart, the grocery delivery service that launched in Philly 18 months ago, is now opening up part-time employee positions for its contract workers (i.e., the people that do your grocery shopping when you use the app). Those staffers have more responsibilities and get additional training. Instacart will pay workers compensation and payroll taxes for those part-time employees, but they won’t get health benefits, a spokeswoman confirmed.
The San Francisco startup has been rolling this program out across the country over the last few months, and Philly is one of the last cities to get it. Based on interest in its other markets, Instacart expects three-quarters of its contract staffers to apply for these positions, according to a release.
It’s a move that comes at a time when startups shilling on-demand services are starting to face the realities of building a business on contract workers. First Round Capital-backed cleaning startup Homejoy recently shut down, following four lawsuits from their contract staffers focused on this very issue.
Instacart plans to hire 100 part-time employees in Philadelphia. Spokeswoman Andrea Saul said that the company didn’t have a count for contract shoppers because the number fluctuates. Before it started hiring part-time employees this summer, Instacart had about 7,000 contractors working throughout 16 markets.
A Craigslist ad advertises a minimum rate of $13/hour for Instacart shoppers. As for part-time employees, Saul said:

The way they are paid is apples and oranges—for contractors, the pay structure is really complicated based on a lot of factors. For the part-time employees, wages will vary by market, but we will be competitive in each market to attract and retain shoppers. We use an hourly minimum to ensure shoppers are paid for their time and effort, regardless of customer volume, and they have the opportunity to make more than that. The hourly floor is above the local minimum wage, in all regions.

Instacart has three full-time employees in Philly, who work at the new Center City coworking space Industrious in a private office, whose walls are lined with snacks and drinks.